Nomadic:Sessions:20060520

The group settles upon a hotel located just off the Interstate in Normal, Illinois. They take two three-bedroom suites. By the time they get to sleep, it’s nearly 2:00am on Tuesday, April 20, 1993. Stephanie and Gilbert share a bedroom, and it’s evident they’ve done so many times before, but in Vincente’s opinion they’re not physically intimate.

Sevren is up by 8:00am. He goes to the front desk and explains that he’s waiting for some friends from out of town (Germany and California) who aren’t familiar with the area, and wonders whether anyone like that has wandered through in the last day or two. “It’s for a surprise party, and some of them know and some of them don’t, so don’t let on that I was asking – unless they give the password ‘Greenborough’ and you can give them my room number.” The desk clerk seems happy to play along with this conspiracy, and gives Sevren a pamphlet listing other area hotels, which he calls and gives the same spiel to. A Courtyard Hotel clerk informs him that a party meeting his description checked in a little past midnight, but had already checked out again. The clerk thinks they were headed over to the university.

Around 8:45am Sevren calls a cab to take him to ISU, where he arrives by 9:30am. Students bustle about the campus. They pay scant attention to the shard, which indicates they’ve gotten used to its presence. Sevren strikes up a conversation with a coed seated on a bench in the quad, explains that he’s an art student, and asks about the ‘monument’. She’s surprised he doesn’t already know all about it, since someone had placed it there during the last weekend of March and it was in the news for a good week and a half afterwards. She doesn’t recall any dignitaries visiting it recently. Sevren interviews several other students and gets much the same story, fixing the date of the shard’s appearance as March 29. Rhodes’ car is still parked in the same place as last night; around 10:30am a campus security guard slaps a “warning – will be towed” sticker on it. Sevren contrives to search the car’s interior and trunk, but finds nothing of interest save a powdery residue in the glove compartment. The powder has an herbal scent.

Vincente gets up around 10:00am. (He’s alone in bed, so apparently none of his dreams came true.) He can hear Rick showering. He bangs on Max’s door, his attitude being “if I’m up, you should be up.” Gilbert and Stephanie are stirring around in their room. JT has already gone downstairs to breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Vincente takes it upon himself to go out and buy updated clothes for everyone.

Valerie’s stomach awakens her around 11:00am. The aroma of food wafts in from the suite’s common area. After showering and dressing she emerges from her room. Stephanie and Gilbert have ordered room service, and Stephanie is perusing a local newspaper. Vincente returns from his shopping and starts distributing the clothing he purchased. He raps on Max’s door. “Yo, Max! I know you can hear me!” “No, I can’t.”

Sevren notices a couple of skinheads and talks to them. They got their tattoos at a parlor in downtown Bloomington. One of them stays that some “interesting individuals” had come to town to look at the monument. Sevren expresses interest in meeting them, saying slyly “The Fatherland can always use more supporters, I know.” The student says “I’ll see what we can do for you.”

Around 11:30am Vincente calls Sevren’s name over the communicators and asks for his location. Sevren reports that he’s at the Student Union building on campus. He relates what he has learned about the sudden appearance of the monument, the skinheads, and the pro-Nazi movement and the possible connection he has gained. Vincente: “Well, you can’t be seen with me.” Sevren: “Yeah, you and Valerie may not want to be around me for the next little bit.” Vincente: “If you find the guys with the white sheets, tell us about them. That way we can put them on and pull some gloves on, and we can go.” Sevren: “Oh, I’ll let you know, don’t worry.” Vincente: “We’re going to head over there. I want to see if I can spot some… like-minded people myself.” Sevren describes for JT the powder he had found in Rhodes’ car; JT guesses it’s an alchemical formulation, and he would need to analyze it before identifying it.

While Valerie, JT, and Rick head directly to the ISU campus, Max and Vincente along with Gilbert and Stephanie swing past the Best Western, one of the hotels that Sevren said wouldn’t give him information about their guests. Vincente recognizes, abandoned in an outer lot, the motorcycle of which he’d knifed the rear tire. Entering the lobby, Vincente surreptitiously casts Foolishness on a cute Hispanic female desk clerk. She tells him two men checked in last night around 1:00am and checked out by 9:00am. Their names were Claude Franks and Otto Newman, and they paid in cash. “That Claude guy gave me the creeps,” she adds. From her description, Vincente recognizes the motorcycle guy. Since she wasn’t sure of the pronunciation, Vincente asks her to spell the name – it’s K-l-a-u-s. Otto is six feet tall with light brown hair and blue eyes. Max can start up the motorcycle, but finds it’s been rendered inoperable.

At the other hotel, a Residence Inn, there are few cars in the parking lot and none dating further back than the ‘80s. Again Vincente goes in and casts Foolishness on the (male) desk clerk. Around 5:30pm yesterday evening a group of men with New York accents checked in; they’re in town for a conference at the university.

A little after noon, Sevren notices four males, one of them obviously leading the other three, approaching the shard. They read the inscription on its south side. The ‘tour guide’ says, “Yeah, this thing has been here for about three weeks. We still don’t know where it came from. But it seems to be having an interesting effect on the environment.” Sevren gets the impression that this confirms something the other three men (who have Bronx accents) already suspected. Sevren approaches the group and asks, “Are you guys here for the conference?” One of them eyes Sevren, then replies, “Yes, we are. Where’d you find out about it?” “I’m here with one of my friends. He got invited also. I don’t really know what it’s about.” “Interesting…” Sevren gets an odd feeling during this exchange, as if part of his mind had tried to go to sleep. The man continues, “We have our first session this evening. Are you one of the planners?” “No, I work for an individual who’ll be attending. He likes to remain anonymous, so he sends me into areas as his liaison before he arrives.”

Vincente and Max hear this just as Vincente emerges from the Residence Inn. Max is rolling as soon as Vincente gets into the car. Vincente: “Sevren, keep those people under surveillance. I’ll be there in a few minutes to talk to them.”

The one doing most of the talking gives his name as Brad Yee. “My comrade has written a couple of papers” on sites such as Stonehenge for an occult journal. Sevren acts like he’s concentrating, then tells them that one of his friends is coming this direction, “and I didn’t want you to be alarmed.” One of the men who hasn’t said anything makes a slight motion which to Sevren looks like one of Vincente’s magic gestures; then he pulls some kind of handheld device from his pocket. Over the headset Vincente asks Sevren whether he thinks the three men are mages. Yee speaks up, “We look forward to the conference. But we need to examine this and talk among ourselves. We don’t mean to be rude, but we have some theories to check out.” “Yes, yes,” Sevren says emphatically (responding to Vincente as well as Yee), “It’s very nice to meet you gentlemen.” He gets Yee’s permission to tag along for the rest of their ‘tour’.

Rick, wearing a cap pulled low over his eyes, comes up to Sevren. Loudly enough for Yee’s group to hear, Sevren says “Give this to the alchemist.” He hands over the bag of powder. Equally loudly, Rick responds “Yes, I will,” and walks off. Mumbling to himself, Sevren moves up to the monument, tapping it at different points and pretending to listen closely, but actually trying to overhear Yee’s group.

Max pulls up next to Rhodes’ car, noticing the ticket beneath the wiper and the bright yellow sticker affixed to the rear window. Gilbert and Stephanie trail behind Vincente, who walks directly toward Yee’s group; Max walks around to the north side of the shard. Sevren comes up and bows to Vincente. Vincente’s Aura spell reveals that the man holding the device is definitely a Level 2 mage. He tries the spell on one of the other men (Yee), who gestures and cancels Vincente’s spell. The third man tries and fails to deflect his spell; he is a Level 3 mage.

“Greetings,” says Vincente, and Yee responds, “Greetings. (To Sevren) Is this your employer?” Sevren: “One of them. Quite a few of them are coming into town.” Yee: “Oh, really?” Sevren: “Yes. A few have already arrived.” Vincente: “Gentlemen, what do you think of this?” Yee: “It’s quite fascinating.” Vincente: “Do you know how it got here?” Yee: “I’m afraid we don’t. That’s one of the things we hope to determine.” Sevren (to Vincente): “Didn’t the alchemist have a theory on that?” Vincente: “Yes, but I don’t think his theory is valid. We don’t need an alchemist; we need a gatemaster of some type.” Sevren: “Well, he’s on his way up.” Yee: “Really? Where do y’all come from?” Vincente: “I’m from Denver.” Yee: “Denver? Hmm. I didn’t realize there was a mystical-philosophical group centered out of Denver.” Vincente: “We’re low-profile.” Yee: “Hmm. (To the man with the device) Well, Harley, we’ll just have to check that out.” Sevren begins sidling toward Harley. Yee (to Vincente): “Were you also contacted by the local professor?” Vincente: “Is the local professor German?” Yee: “I don’t believe they are.” Vincente: “The people who contacted us, part of them are a German affiliate.” Yee: “Hm. Interesting.” Vincente: “Do you know where this came from?” Yee: “Like I said, that’s one of the things we hope to determine. So, no, I don’t.” Vincente: “Where do you think it belongs?” Yee: “Well, Elvin has a couple of theories, but I really don’t want to broach those at the moment, since we may publish them in our particular journal. However, we think it may be… well, I’d just really rather not say.” Vincente: “Okay, that’s fine. I don’t plan to do any publishing at this particular time, so I feel relatively free to share my opinion openly with you.” Elvin tries to cast Aura on Vincente, who counters the spell.

Peering over the shard from the north side, Max can see the display on Harley’s device. There is some kind of reading, pegged at the top, which reminds Max of a radiation level. He’s pretty sure it’s not a weapon; it’s more like a Star Trek tricorder. Max borrows a piece of paper and a pen from a student seated on a nearby bench. He writes in large letters “It’s a meter reading radiance and it’s pegged out” then returns to the wall and holds up his sign so Vincente can see it.

Sevren: “Do you gentlemen know if the California delegates have arrived yet?” Harley: “They’re not getting in from San Francisco until later this eve…” Yee shoots him a quick look, and he shuts up. Vincente: “Gentlemen, I’ll share part of my theory with you, and you can write it up any way you want. But for my input, I need the answer to a couple of questions. And I’ll go first. How’s that?” Yee: “That’s more than fair.” Vincente: “My theory is that this is a piece of a larger structure, and it might be part of a way to access other pieces of that structure.” Yee: “Yes, anybody who watched the news two weeks ago knows that this is a duplicate of the stone that’s in the Washington Memorial.” Vincente: “A duplicate?” Yee: “It looks just like it, down to the carving and the lettering. Believe me, the overlay has been done.” Vincente: “Let me ask you this. What makes you so sure it’s a duplicate?” Yee: “That’s part of the reason we’re here, to determine if the people who did the analysis two weeks ago are accurate. They did pictures, and they did computer overlays, and it matches down to the millimeter, I’ve been told.”

Vincente: “That little device you’ve got there, I’m not much of an electronic whiz, but that device looks kind of advanced for 1993, don’t you think?” Yee: “We like to think that we’re cutting edge in technology. We have people who are – our research and development in our institution is quite good.” Vincente: “I see, to be actually able to measure Ley lines and stuff.” Harley turns pale, and Elvin shifts into a defensive posture. Sevren: “I think there were a few of the Russian syndicate that were researching some of that technology. Don’t be concerned; I represent quite a few different individuals. This gentleman is the only one who hired me for this conference, but I’m well-connected with all the different syndicates and organizations, and if you gentlemen ever need representation for any of these events, feel free to call on me.” Yee acknowledges him with a slight nod.

Vincente: “Have y’all run into any unusual quarters?” Yee: “Quarters? I don’t know exactly what you’re talking about. What do you mean?” Vincente: “Have you run into any quarters that you would consider unusual, with properties that we… that you and I…” Yee: “Mystical properties, that would enhance the aura of the surrounding areas.” Vincente: “Yes. Have you run into any of those?” Yee: “Uh, I’m afraid not.” Vincente: “Have you run into anybody else inquiring about them?” Yee: “I don’t know, but if something like that is turned up around this unique artifact, I think it will probably come out at the conference that’s been called.” Vincente: “Okay. Then if this particular conversation comes up, your alert companion right there (indicating Elvin) might be needed. The people that are inquiring about these aren’t particularly interested in discussing theory.”

Yee: “So you found out about the conference through your... representative?” Vincente: “No, I have other contacts.” Yee: “So you’re sort of… he sort of…” Vincente: “Crashing the party?” Yee: “That’s sort of a crass way to say it, but you decided to crash the party?” Vincente: “No, I haven’t decided to crash it, unless the items or people that I’m interested in are attending.” Yee: “Well, the only ones I think that were invited by the local individual were the San Francisco group, ourselves from New York City, and I believe a group that’s been brought up from San Antonio, Texas. We were invited due to previous contacts and such.” Vincente: “Well, I’m here via Denver and other places. And I’m just putting my cards on the table because I’m sure that you’re not an enemy of mine, but I get the feeling that unwittingly you could come between me and the people we consider foes. You seem very competent at your skills.” Yee: “Your group strikes me as being fairly competent. You definitely make good first impressions.” Vincente: “We’re trying to. I figured that since we were kindred in some way, I wanted to warn you of a potential danger.” Yee: “We will be on the lookout. You think there might be some other faction that I wasn’t aware of that may be trying to benefit from this artifact and these quarters you refer to.” Vincente: “The quarters are what is being searched for. There are at least three groups that are looking for the quarters. And one of the groups is highly dangerous.”

The tour guide, who has been standing just off Sevren’s shoulder, has been soaking all this in. Sevren noticed that Stephanie put her hand inside her purse (where she has her gun) right after Elvin tensed up.

Yee: “That’s quite interesting, that there may be another player.” Vincente: “I would like to attend the conference, just to see if they’re there.” Yee: “That would be the call of the person who officially called this. I will check, and I can ask if it would be all right for another party to attend. I would have to clear it with my… mentor.” Vincente casts Aura on the tour guide; he’s not a mage, but he has an awareness of magic (Magery 0), and he’s a bit on the shady side.

Sevren turns to the tour guide. “The Gatemaster is set to arrive shortly, and he would also like to attend the conference. He was under the impression that he would obviously be included, and will be upset if he’s not.” TG: “Well, what I can do is I can talk to my mentor. My name is Nelson Tennit,” and he gives out his pager number. “If you have a pager, I can page you once I get an answer.” Vincente gives him his cell phone number (“but I’m from out of town, so it might not work”). (Sevren notes that Nelson was startled at his Gatemaster reference but covered it quickly, and he seems already aware of the possibility that the monument may be a gate.) (JT looks up Tennit on the campus network. He is a graduate student in philosophy.)

Vincente: “My friend mentioned something about skinheads. They’re not invited to this conference, are they?” Yee: “I’ll ask. They would only be invited if we were actually into ritual sacrifice, which I believe is not necessary for most of the mystical resonances that we try to strive for in this day and age.” Sevren: “So the rumors about the local guild are true, then?” Yee: “No, they’re not true.” (Nelson’s reaction to the mention of skinheads is revulsion; Yee, Harley, and Elvin seem neutral.)

Vincente: “Well, I think we need to hook back up with the alchemist.” Sevren: “Actually, I have to go prepare for the Gatemaster’s arrival, and a few of the other gentlemen also. If I could catch up with you later, that would be ideal.” Yee: “We need to consider the readings that our friend has taken, so we need some time to ourselves. We are staying at the Residence Inn, and we are registered under my name, Brad Yee, so you can find us there. Hopefully you’ll be participating in this meeting this evening, once the other representatives arrive from the different philosophical organizations.” Vincente: “Are you so advanced that the twenty-first century has come early for you?” Yee: “We would like to think that we are at least a generation ahead of time.”

Sevren: “Gentlemen, if you’re ever in need of my services, contact me in the usual ways.” Yee and Elvin act like they know what he’s talking about. Turning to Nelson, Sevren continues, “And if your master could contact me… or your mentor, I’m sorry, could contact me, in the usual way, he should feel free to. If he is unable to get hold of me because his power is not yet at that level, just have him contact us through my other associate here. Again, the Gatemaster will be very upset if he is not to be included in this meeting.” Nelson: “I will so inform my mentor.”

Yee and his group walk away toward the west and north. Vincente casts Keen Ear on himself, and cutting through Scryguard he hears Nelson saying, “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that there was another one…” Elvin: “No worries. We know that she couldn’t have known that this was going on. She wouldn’t have invited another one, so I’m sure that there must be a leak in either San Antonio or San Francisco.” Harley: “Yeah, I’ll begin an Internet search on the Denver area as soon as we get back to a computer.” Yee: “Yeah, that’s enough. Let’s go.”

It’s now around 1:00pm. Vincente tries another Seeker spell on the quarters Rhodes carries, but doesn’t quite get through the Scryguard. He does sense that Rhodes is within five miles. He tries Seek Foes – there are two (probably on motorcycles) speeding south on the Interstate, four more four miles to the south, and another group that’s Scryguarded. Over the headsets Vincente announces, “Road trip to Bloomington; who wants to go? I think that’s where the Nazis are. The Nazis have more coins than Rhodes.” Max: “Yeah, but they don’t know how to use them. They just may be collecting them for someone else.” Vincente: “They have at least one mage. I think Rhodes is in Normal but I don’t know where.” Vincente asks Gilbert to try to locate Rhodes, but Rhodes is blocked to him also. Valerie reasons that sooner or later either Rhodes or the Nazis will show up wherever the quarters on this world are located. Vincente casts a spell seeking the quarters, excluding the ones held by himself, JT, and Stephanie; he senses one within a half-mile of him, possibly on the ISU campus.

Sevren locates a campus directory in the Student Union and scans for departments that might be connected to magic. He copies down and announces over the headset the names of the four female Philosophy professors (Brenda Simons, Crystal Mayfield, Deborah Carr, and Madeline Foley). Vincente casts Trace on the quarter he just sensed; it’s located in the building that houses the philosophy department. Max brings the car around and drives to the building.

Sevren asks around about the skinhead he talked with earlier. He obtains a name – Herman Volt. When Sevren mentions that Volt is under official suspicion, one student says to be sure to catch Luther Raab also.

JT has obtained the use of a chemistry lab. He analyzes the powder found in Rhodes’ car, and it contains ingredients that Rhodes had purchased at the drugstore in Sherman. One ingredient is used to create a nauseating stench, and the other to control animals. He decides he’s got two different concoctions mixed together. He thinks they are ritual spell components.

Sevren asks Rick if he can either take down the ISU internet connection, or create a connection to a faux occult society in Denver. Rick gets to work.

Valerie meets Max and Vincente in front of the building. Sevren lurks in the vicinity. Vincente instructs Stephanie and Gilbert to stay with the car. Vincente leads the way to the second floor, following his Trace spell; Sevren ascends using a different stairway. Vincente enters an office suite for Deborah Carr, Madeline Foley, and Darrin Young; Vincente indicates it’s Foley they’re interested in. A freckle-faced lad looks up from the desk in the common area. “May I help y’all?” Vincente: “Is the doctor in?” Valerie walks right past the young man and into Foley’s office as the kid starts to splutter. “Hold that thought,” says Vincente.

Madeline Foley is a fairly attractive woman with black hair, gray eyes, and olive skin (indicating possible Mediterranean heritage). “Can I help you?” she asks, as Valerie looks around her office, noting the diplomas on the wall. Vincente enters, casting Aura, as Valerie moves around Foley’s desk. Foley scoots her chair back trying to block Valerie from getting behind her; Valerie shoves her chair forward. Immediately Foley is on her feet, shouting “Get Security!” Max puts his hand over the phone as the kid reaches for it, then closes Foley’s door. “We’ll handle it; don’t worry.” The kid stares at him with wide eyes, like a bird hypnotized by a snake.

Vincente’s spell reveals Foley as a Level 2 mage; she has one of the quarters on her. He casts Foolishness but it has no effect on Foley, though she seems frozen in her tracks. Vincente casts Daze and a light flares around her. Foley: “Okay, what do you want?” She starts to move toward Vincente, but Valerie grabs her and pushes her into her chair. Vincente: “Don’t move, okay?” Foley: “Okay…” Vincente senses that the quarter is somewhere in the area of her belt; realizing he’ll have to cut the quarter out, he pulls out his “Nazi knife.” A blinding Flash goes off over Foley’s head, and Vincente and Valerie see spots. To distract Foley from further spellcasting, Valerie twists her arm behind her back until she utters a cry of pain. Vincente removes the quarter from Foley’s belt.

Vincente conjures a Sunbolt and asks Foley “Am I going to have to use this on you?” “No,” Foley answers, her voice edged with pain. Stealing a quick glance at the coin, Vincente sees it is the 2001 New York quarter, featuring an outline of the state, the Statue of Liberty, and the words “Gateway to Freedom.” “Could you tell me where you got this coin?” Valerie eases her hold on Foley’s arm. Foley: “I found it a couple of weeks ago.” “What do you mean, you found it?” “It was laying on the floor of my home.” “Do you know anybody else that has any of these coins?” “I wish I did.” “Are you the one that called the conference about the monument?” “Yes.” “Can I come? I’ll understand if you don’t want me to come.” “You barge in here and take the artifact without talking. What do you think?” “You sound upset now, but please believe me, there are those looking for it who would have taken more than just the coin.” Foley, glaring sullenly, says nothing. “Well, it was a pleasure meeting you. I’ll take your rejection under advisement, and I guess we’ll be going. We’re about to leave; I’m not going to have to hurt you any more, am I? You’re not going to, like, try to stop me, are you?” “No, I’m not going to try to stop you.” “*Are* you going to stop me?” “I don’t think I’m powerful enough.” Valerie: “She’s going to try to warn other people, though.” Vincente extinguishes the Sunbolt, then casts Daze, which takes effect readily on Foley. “You can let her go,” Vincente tells Valerie. Valerie dips her hand into her pocket and lays a regular quarter on Foley’s desk. On the way out, Vincente Dazes the kid in the reception area. Vincente, Valerie, and Max walk casually out of the building.

“Next one?” Valerie asks Vincente, then over the headsets says “Hey, Sevren, we’re leaving.” Sevren: “I’m gonna hang out here for a second.” Valerie: “Yeah, she’ll probably try to contact someone. If you can find out who it is, it might be useful.” Sevren: “No problem.” Valerie: “I don’t think she’s going to call Security. She’s going to call her… coven, or whatever you call it.”

Over the headsets Rick announces, “I’ve done a denial-of-service attack on the main server of the university. I think I’ve got it down for the moment.”

Sevren slips into Foley’s office and seats himself across the desk from her. As she starts showing signs of coming out of her Daze, Sevren clears his throat, then offers her a cup of water. “Here, drink this.” “Who are *you*?” “I’m an individual who – I guess you can best call me a liaison or representative. Here, drink this water.” She takes the cup gingerly and drinks it down, then flexes her sore arm. “What do you want?” “Well, it’s not so much what I want. It’s what the Gatemaster wants.” “Local… or from elsewhere?” “From elsewhere.” “You’ve already walked down the road?” “A good ways.” “What does your Gatemaster want?” “He wants to know what your intentions are.” “Use the shard to protect us, and use this gateway to our benefit.” “Who is ‘us’?” “Who is the Gatemaster?” “A rather secretive individual. But I assure you that if you assist me in this matter, he will reveal himself to you in due time.” “He wouldn’t be the individual who so violently stole the artifact from me?” “No. I have to say that I have previously been associated with that gentleman, but I will no longer be representing him, based on his actions. I’d like to apologize for what happened.”

“Then get back my stolen property. I’ll hire you for that.” “Hire?” “You said you represent people. That implies you’re a for-hire individual.” “Well, right now I’ve got a few jobs going on. What is your organization? That would let me know what sort of assistance I might be able to lend.” “In some realities it’s referred to as the Cabal.” “What are you planning on using the shard to do?” “For various reasons, planar travel from here has been difficult over the years. This should make it a lot easier, give us better access to the other reality planes.” “It should make it quite a bit easier. What do you plan to do in the other reality planes?” “Learn. Gather knowledge. Increase the power base.” “I might be able to assist with that. I travel quite extensively.” Foley gestures with her right hand, then says, “You really no longer work for that individual, so anything I say will not be passed to him?” “Oh, I assure you I do not work for that gentleman any longer.” Foley seems pleased with Sevren’s answer.

“So what can you do for me, exactly?” “Well, why have you called the individuals you have called here, here? Why not others? There are plenty of people you could have gained access to.” “They’re the ones most likely to decide how we can best use this. Plus I have the appropriate contacts with these.” “The other players in the game, are you aware of them?” “I was obviously not aware of the individual who just robbed me.” “What about the ones with the majority of the coins?” “The *majority* of the coins?” “Of course.” “I only sensed four others.” “Oh, I guess your power level must not be up to that point yet.” “More coins… But I don’t have the… but… We’ll see.”

“Would it be all right with you if the Gatemaster attended your little conference?” In response, Foley writes on a business card the time – 6:00pm – and a room number within the building. On another card she writes something else. “He will present that, and he will be allowed entry.” With the amulet Sevren translates the second card: Admit bearer – treat with caution – may be foe. “I’m afraid there’s a problem with this,” he says. “What would that be?” “I don’t think the Gatemaster will wish to attend by himself.” “How many would be attending in his group?” “At least two.” “Three total would be acceptable.” She writes on two more cards; Sevren notes that each card is in a different language.

Sevren: “I just arrived here myself, so I don’t have any contact information to give you. But if you should need my help, just do so in the usual ways.” Foley nods.

Outside the building, Vincente casts a spell to Seek the next quarter. Wherever it is, it’s not within the range of his spell. Valerie: “We gotta get Gilbert back onto finding that Rhodes character. *He* doesn’t seem to have any problem finding the quarters.” Vincente: “If I’d known from the beginning that he was an Elder, I’d have made a point to find him.” JT (over the headset): “We should have shot him when we had him.”

As they arrive at the car, Valerie asks Gilbert, “Well, have you found Rhodes yet?” “I’ve been trying, but no, I haven’t.” Vincente: “Can you sense another quarter?” Gilbert: “Only if I have a quarter on me,” and he cuts his eyes at Stephanie. Vincente has Stephanie lend Gilbert the quarter, saying “What’s the worst that can happen? You kill yourself.” Gilbert: “No, that’s not the worst that could happen. I could bridge the gap between this and some nether region plane. I think you call them Hell dimensions.”

Sevren (via headset): “Wait, Stephanie had the coin?” Vincente: “Yes.” Sevren: “Ask her if she knows any spells.” JT: “I asked her, and she said she wasn’t a mage.” Sevren: “That doesn’t mean she doesn’t know any spells.” Vincente puts the question to her, and she replies, “No, I don’t know any spells. No need to learn them. I can recognize when they’re being cast, but does that mean I know them? No. I can’t cast any, even in enhanced mana.”

Gilbert concentrates for over half a minute, then says, “I sense them off to the south of here. I can’t pinpoint them. A couple of miles south of here, I think.” Vincente: “That would be Bloomington. I know they’re there already. How many do you sense?” Gilbert: “A lot.” Vincente: “Those aren’t the ones that we’re looking for. Those are where the Nazis are.” Gilbert hands the quarter back to Stephanie, who visibly relaxes.

Sevren: “We need to figure out who’s going to this meeting tonight. A few of you guys probably aren’t legitimate candidates anymore because of recent actions.” Vincente: “What are you talking about? Are you making a reference to me?” Sevren: “I’m making a reference to multiple people.” Vincente: “Well, there are only two in our group who could legitimately go. And if you think I’m going to let Gilbert go in by himself…” Sevren: “I think I and someone else will go with him.” Vincente: “You and Stephanie and him?” Sevren: “That’s what I would think.”

JT finds that the dean of the philosophy department is Dr. Gil Davis. He wants to know if Foley’s boss knows what she’s doing. He and Rick walk over there and are shown into Davis’s office by a grad student. “Thank you, son,” JT says, clapping the student on the shoulder; he can tell by the student’s reaction (to the increased mana) that he’s a mage. Davis shakes hands with JT and asks, “What can I do for you, Doctor? What brings you to campus?” JT: “What brings me to campus is that monstrosity out in the middle of the quad.” “Yes, it created quite an uproar.” “What’s keeping me around here is one of your professors, Madeline Foley. What do you know about magery?” “I’m greatly entertained by illusionists on television and stage shows. As far as true magery, the ones that claim they can do it have never been able to reproduce it in laboratory conditions beyond proof. I know that philosophy has been written about it over the centuries in the abstract, and what New Age says, but basically it’s wish fulfillment.” “Really. Well, your professor is wishing for a lot of people like her to show up here and talk about what they’re going to do with your artifact.” “That replica of one of the Washington Monument’s memorial stones that somebody placed here?” “You’re not a professor of physics at all, are you?” “No, philosophy. I saw all the specials about the stone and what it would have taken to move something that size, and it’s quite a mystery how it was done.” “Mm-hmm. So you don’t believe in math, you don’t believe in physics, and you don’t believe in magic.”

Davis smiles, “I see where you’re coming from.” JT, aside to Rick: “He really *is* a philosophy professor.” Davis repeats, “I see where you’re coming from.” JT: “I see where you’re coming from too, sir.” Davis shrugs. JT: “Oh, I have no problem with that. But the facts remain.” “So, one of my professors is calling some sort of conference of mystics or mages or magicians?” “Yeah.” “And how are they going to use this artifact?” “See, the problem is they think they’re going to use it. But I imagine that it, and those around it, are going to use them instead.” “And who would these others be?” JT describes Rhodes and says “He’s one of them. Has he been hanging around campus?” “I haven’t seen anyone that meets that description.” JT describes the Nazi captain and Davis doesn’t recognize him, either.

JT hears Rick walk away from his post by the doorway. Over the headset comes Rick’s voice: “JT, when you described Rhodes, this kid outside – it seemed to register with him.” Sevren happens to walk past just then and gets a peek at the grad student; no, he’s not the tour guide, Nelson Tennit.

Davis: “Are they the ones who are dangerous to my professor?” JT: “Yeah. They’re at odds, and they both want to control the artifact. One of them is kind of a paramilitary group, which could put some of the students here at some danger.” Davis’s face darkens. “What kind of paramilitary group? What type of militia?” After a long moment JT says, “Nazis.” “We’ve got skinheads on campus, and that movement has been growing over the last several years.” “Oh, I’m sure they’ll fall right in line with these guys.” “Oh, my. This could be very bad.” “They believe that the Third Reich is going to control it all, that the Fuhrer is in charge of all this.” “There’s no Fuhrer ruling in Germany. The Nazi Parties that exist are…” He stops at JT’s look. JT: “You’re a philosophy professor. Do you really think that they have to have land to control things? To rule anything?” Davis: “No, they don’t.”

Davis: “Do I need to get Madeline down here? Do we need to get her in this conversation?” JT: “I don’t know.” “She does have a class this period.” “All I’m saying is, I just wanted to know if you were aware of what was about to happen.” “Obviously not. I’ve heard nothing of this.” “Well, that’s because you don’t believe in mages.” Davis checks something on his computer screen and says, “She has checked out one of the rooms for this evening for some sort of meeting.” “You could ask the young gentleman out in the hallway. He seems to be adept.” “She’s got it listed as an undergraduate seminar on one of the more obscure philosophies out of Europe.” “The members of her cabal will show up.” Seeing that Davis recognizes the term, JT continues, “Ah, so the occult is something you do believe in.” “Well, I’ve heard of it and the philosophy behind it. We’ve studied some of the offshoots of it. Are you saying she’s a member of some sort of mystic conspiracy organization?” “I don’t know. But she managed to call people from all around the country to come and have this conference.”

Davis is silent, thinking, then says, “She and her husband have been acting a little strangely the last several weeks. So, Doctor, how are you related to this thing?” “I’m part of a group that’s trying to locate and neutralize the bad guys.” “These… Nazis.” “And Mr. Rhodes.” “Well… how can I help?” “I don’t know. That’s why I came here to ask you. But you’re not a mage.”

Meanwhile, after getting lunch in downtown Bloomington, Vincente suggests to Valerie, “Want to play a game?” He has her hold his quarter and recite the words and mimic the gestures for a simple Light spell. After a moment, a light about as bright as a candle appears in the palm of her hand.

JT has Rick call the grad student into the room. Rick warns the student “Don’t make any unusual moves, just step in there.” JT can see that Rick is pressing the barrel of a handgun into the small of the student’s back. JT: “So you recognized my friend Mr. Rhodes.” Rick nudges the student with his gun. Student: “Yes… he was here this morning.” JT: “In here?” “He came to see the dean, but he was in class, so I told him he’d need to come back later.” “Why would he come to see the dean?” “He said he had some matter to discuss with him, something he could do for the department. He wasn’t very clear as to what.” “Is he supposed to be coming back anytime real soon?” “He talked as if he wouldn’t be able to come back today. Probably sometime in the next couple of days. He said he’d be back before the week ended.” “I’ll bet he will.” JT notes that the student is a very poor liar.

JT: “So… how much ritual magic have you ever done?” Student: “Uh… ritual magic?” Rick: “Shall I wound him, Doctor?” JT: “No. I’m just going to give him some of the powder that we found and see what he thinks about that.” JT pulls a bag of powder out of his lab coat. Student: “…Quite a bit. Of course, I didn’t start as early as some people, so I’m not quite as good.” JT: “So if I mix (recites a list of the powder’s components), what *exactly* do you think I’m trying to do?” Student: “Those are the spell components to cast a Stench spell. You need to use that in conjunction with the right gestures.” JT: “Right. And then this…” He pulls out another bag and lists its ingredients. Student: “I think that’s something I’m not familiar with. Something to do with animals, beasts…” “Controlling animals.” “Yes.” Dr. Davis is gaping such that his chin hits his chest. JT: “Why would they be together? Why would somebody be doing both of those things?” Student: “I can’t really think of a reason why they would. They’re two separate processes.”

JT: “You’ve done ritual magic. Have you had any formal training?” Student: “Some.” “You have. You work with Professor Foley?” “Yes, I have.” “Is she the top dog around here?” The student gets a trapped-animal expression, but says “She is in charge around here, yes.” “So you’re a member of the Cabal, too?” “This is a very minor lodge. So, yes.” “Hoping to become a much more major lodge, now that you have an artifact of such magnitude.” “It should… propel us upward in the hierarchy, yes.” “Or get you all destroyed.” “That’s why we have to be very careful.” “Did you even know that Mr. Rhodes was an elder mage?” “He is a master, yes.” “You told him to come back and see the dean later.” “Actually, he’s probably not going to come back here. He’s done what he needs to do.” “And what was that?” “I gave him the information that he needed.” “Information about the conference tonight?” “About the conference tonight.” “So he’s set something up in that room already?” “He did visit the site, yes.”

JT says deliberately, “Sevren?” Over the headsets Sevren replies, “I heard.” Max: “Don’t sneeze.” Valerie: “Don’t inhale!” [Bill: “Who’s your other character?”] JT: “You might want to get our friend to come and take a look at that room.” Sevren: “Okay.”

JT turns and looks at Dean Davis. “Now would probably be a good time to get Professor Foley back over here.” Davis shakes himself slightly, then picks up the phone and starts punching buttons.

With Vincente’s encouragement, Valerie casts the Light spell again, this time making it brighter. She feels the energy flow from her and return immediately.

Sevren dons his gloves. He searches the conference room carefully. In two different places he finds hidden crystals, four in all. “Vincente? I just found four crystals in the room where they’re having the meeting later.” “Can I have them?” “I guess. I need you over here as quickly as you guys can get here to help me out.” “Oh, I think I can probably do that.” JT: “Vincente, those crystals were probably placed there by Mr. Rhodes.” “Oh? We shall be there very soon.”

Valerie casts her Light spell again, having found that it gets easier every time she does so. Vincente: “Okay, Gilbert…” “Yes?” “You and I are going to do something… interesting, okay? Do you know the Teleport spell?” “No, I don’t know Teleport.” “All right, I’m going to leave Max with you. What you need to do is see if you can find where the Nazis are. We’ll be back.” Stephanie: “What are you thinking, Vincente?” “I’m going back to Normal right now.” JT: “Not a chance.” “I’m going to take Valerie with me, and I would take Max but we need we need to make sure that you don’t become a victim of your own circumstances, so he’s going to drive you around. After we’re finished, me and Valerie will come back to this spot here, next to the car.” Gilbert: “You want me to find the Nazis. Okay.” “Find where a bunch of coins are.” “I can do that.” Vincente takes Valerie by the hand and teleports them to the front of the philosophy building.

On the phone Davis is saying, “Yes, I need you down here right now, please. A matter has come to my attention that we need to deal with.” JT asks the student if Rhodes had touched him. Student: “We had contact, yes.” “Was it the same kind of feeling as when I touched your shoulder as I was coming in? A boost in mana?” “Yes, it did.” “Is that why you decided to help him?” “Yes.” “What did he promise you? A trip down the road?” “He did promise assistance, and that was part of it.”

“Do you know what he’s looking for?” “Yes.” “Do you know where any of them are?” “No.” JT thinks the student is lying; he says, “I mean other than the one that Professor Foley had.” “Huh? Uh, no! Uh… she has one?” “Had.” “Had one? Uh…” Rick: “Okay, name the other person who has one.” He chambers a round in his gun for emphasis. The student stammers, “No, really, I don’t know of any other one. Yes, she has one, but that’s all, really!” JT: “Had.” Student: “Okay, she had one, but that’s all! N-nobody else does!” Rick shrugs, then places the end of the barrel against the base of the student’s skull. JT: “I really wish you’d just tell me what’s going on. Your buddy Mr. Rhodes is not your buddy.” Student: “Her husband’s got one.” “Who’s her husband?” The student and Davis answer almost in unison, “Albert Foley.”

JT presses, “And Albert is…” Davis: “He was a captain in the Gulf War. Got out of the service a year ago.” JT: “And he is also a mage?” Student: “No, he’s… he’s not a… he doesn’t… he can’t do anything magical, but he, he knows about what his wife does.” “So why would he hold onto one of those?” “Because they do other things. You probably already know that, though.” “Really? Like what?” “He was a pretty good soldier. Now he’s an extraordinarily good soldier.” “Which coin does he have?” “New Jersey.” [Tony: “It’s got a picture of the Mafia on it.”] (The 1999 New Jersey quarter bears the famous image of ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware’ and the inscription New Jersey 1787 – Crossroads of the Revolution.) The student adds, “He’s head of security for the meeting tonight.” JT: “Did you tell Mr. Rhodes that they each have a coin?” “No, I didn’t. It didn’t seem like something he should know.” “But that’s what he’s looking for.” “I know.”

Vincente and Valerie arrive at the conference room, where Sevren greets them. Vincente takes a close look at the crystals. They are definitely magical. Valerie starts to pick one up and Vincente hurriedly warns her not to because it might be dangerous to touch them. Valerie tries improvising a Levitation spell, and the table where two of the crystals are concealed begins to rise. Vincente casts Apportation on the crystals and moves them into a pocket in Sevren’s backpack, then does the same with the other two crystals. [Valerie: “What if he goes boom?” Vincente: “We’ll have to get somebody else.” Sevren: “You get the Red Crane after that. Very similar.”]

Hearing footsteps, Rick lowers his gun and steps back from the student so he can cover the door. Madeline Foley enters the dean’s office. “Yes, Dean, what can… Oh, I didn’t know you had people here with you.” JT: “You’re here to see me. Dr. Foley, I believe? Have you met Mr. Rhodes?” “No, I haven’t. Not yet.” “But you know who that is.” “Yes, he’s a visiting philosophy instructor from Chicago.” “No, he’s a grand master mage from somewhere down the road. Probably Chicago.” Foley glances over at the student and frowns. JT: “He didn’t tell me. I told him. Go ahead, do your spell. I’m not a mage.” Foley gestures at JT, then at Rick. Foley: “Okay, you’re not a mage. How much have you told the Dean?” JT pulls the Missouri quarter from his pocket, shows the Gateway Arch to her briefly (she utters a soft “Oh!”), then stows it away. JT: “The Dean doesn’t believe in magic. But he also doesn’t believe in math or physics, so that’s okay.” Foley looks at Davis, then makes a gesture and his expression goes blank.

JT: “I told him you were a mage, but he didn’t believe me. The problem here is that, while you think you’re going to find out how to control this thing, you’re putting yourself in a grave amount of danger.” “For great gain, you’ve got to take great risk.” “There’s no gain involved here.” She casts a significant look at JT’s pocket. “Yes, there’s a lot to gain here.” “No, there isn’t.” “Yes, there is. Now it’s more important to me even than before.”

“Have you met Captain Durr?” “No, I haven’t heard of that.” “Well, you know this coin I have? How many do you think there are?” “I know of eleven others.” “How many do you think there are?” “Eleven.” “You think there are eleven. Aren’t you a philosophy professor? That doesn’t mean you can’t count. Do they not produce coins like this in your world, one for every state in the Union?” “Uh… they did?” “Well, did you look at the date on the coin you had?” “Yes, it’s a future date, by almost a decade. [John: “That’s when it expires.”] I did find that strange. And it didn’t match the memorial on the quad.” “There’s pieces of that memorial spread all the way up and down the road.” “Hm, that’s interesting.” “It’s dangerous.” “It’s an opportunity.” “For the Nazis, to control your world.” “I think we could probably deal with any Nazis. If they’re like the Nazis we had, they’re not very bright.”

“You’re right, they’re just like the Nazis you had; they’re not very bright. Only in their world, it’s still the Third Reich. And in their world, they’re in charge. And the ones that have come down the road have about forty of these coins. They’re a little bit ahead of you and your husband. You have one.” “We’ll close the gap a little bit tonight. Then we’ll deal with the Nazis.” “How are you going to close the gap tonight? All of these Cabal members that you’ve called in, they all have coins?” “No, but some are available.” “You think you can control a master mage?” “If you handle it right.” “Really. Did you handle finding the crystals that he had hidden in the conference room?” Foley blinks. JT: “It’s kind of tough to do security from the outside when they’re already inside the conference room.” “I did do a sweep.” “You missed them. So the question is, what’s to gain when you’re bound to lose?”

Foley: “Bottom line, what do you want?” JT: “What do *I* want? I want Rhodes, and I want the Nazis.” “And I can have the quarters?” “They won’t do you any good.” “Yeah, they will. They’re linked and have affinity to that stone and the ones down the road.” “But when we close all that down, the road won’t be open anymore.” “Well, even the residual effects on the quarters are worth something. They’d be payment; I would take them in payment.” “Payment for what?” “For helping you get rid of the Nazis and Rhodes.” “*You’re* helping *me*?” “If we make a deal.” “Let’s see, we found the things in the conference room, and we walked in and took away your coin (Foley goes pale as he says this), and we found out that your husband has one and you didn’t even tell us you were married, and you lied to us claiming you didn’t know any other coins existed… and *you’re* helping *us*?” He laughs.

At this point Vincente walks in. Foley, quite pale by this point, backs away. JT: “You’re in over your head. Are the people that are here from New York and San Francisco and San Antonio part of your group, or are those people from other groups that you’ve called in?” “They’re from different disciplines. They’re from minor lodges. We all hope to use this to enhance our position. I did manage to hide the true nature of the artifact from the archmages.” “You think. If Rhodes found you, what makes you think he hasn’t found the archmages?” Foley gropes behind herself for a chair and collapses into it, a shell-shocked expression on her face.

Gilbert has directed Max to drive back into Normal. Around 2:15pm he points across a street and says, “One of the Nazis that tried to get me in St. Louis is in that building.” “One of ‘em, huh?” “Yeah, he’s the only one I really saw well enough and for long enough that I could get a lock on my Trace. I decided to go for a Nazi instead of the quarters.” Max notes that the building is a two-story glass fronted strip mall with external stairways on either end. Among the tenants are a dance studio and a travel agency. Next to the latter is a storefront with no identifying signage; Gilbert indicates “He’s in there.” Parked in the alley behind the building are a nearly new motorcycle with saddlebags and a couple of dilapidated cars. Max picks up a long wooden pallet, carries it upstairs, and jams the door shut.

Sevren locates another conference room almost identical to the one where tonight’s meeting is to be held. Without touching the crystals, he places them in analogous locations. In the original hiding places he places two small black cranes.

JT says to Foley, “Now that we’ve convinced you of what we can do and what we know, do you mind telling us where the other nine coins you know about are?” “Rhodes has eight of them. There is a track and field athlete who has one. In meets over the last couple of weeks he’s shown a marked improvement, and I did a ritual that verified he has a coin.” [Tom: “He failed his coin test.”] “Is he a mage?” “No.” “What is his name?” “Kendera Jones.” “Well, we can find him. We have access to the school’s records.” Rick grunts in affirmation.

Vincente: “Where is your husband now?” Foley: “Putting together and briefing a security force for tonight.” “I’m gonna ask you again – where is your husband now?” “I don’t know specifically.” JT: “You realize that he’s aspected to the military through the quarter.” Vincente: “Yeah, I understand that.” Foley: “Okay, let me be honest. He’s preparing the ambush with which we plan to take out Rhodes tonight, with my help and the military setup.” JT: “I don’t think he’s coming. At least not while you guys are conscious.” JT looks over at the grad student and asks, “Do you think he’s coming tonight?” Student: “Probably not.” JT: “Yeah, he already did everything he needed to do.” Vincente: “Does Rhodes know about the track star?” Foley: “I don’t know. I don’t think he knows that I have one.” Vincente repeats his question to the student, who replies “How would I know? Like he would confide in me?” Vincente: “Did you tell him?” Student: “I just put him in contact with the professor. I… I guess I could page him.”

JT opens his bag and pulls out a syringe, giving the student a significant look. He removes the cap from the needle (the student’s eyes go even wider) and says, “You really aren’t very good at lying. I think we’re going to have to find out if you’re any better at telling the truth.” Student (staring at the hypo): “Oh god… what’s that?” JT: “That’d be telling.” Student: “Sodium pentothal?” JT: “Oh, it’s much better than that. Did you catch the part where I made the mistake of asking the doctor over here if they hadn’t produced those quarters in your world?” Student: “Mm-hmm.” JT: “Well, they already had in my world. Several years ago. We’re way beyond sodium pentothal. Give me your arm.” [Mary: “Isn’t the LD50 for that drug about half the dose you’re giving him?”] The student glances around at everyone in the room, then steps forward and extends his arm. JT: “Wow. You’re really stupid. You’re not just going to tell me? You’re going to let me shoot this into your arm?” Student: “Do I have a choice?” JT: “Are you going to tell me the truth this time?”

Student: “When he got here this morning, Rhodes already knew that the professor had a coin.” JT: “And her husband?” Student: “I… think I probably told him about that one. He said he’d take me down the road with him, and he’d take me into his organization as an adept.” JT: “You’re not that good.” Vincente: “You’re pretty low right now.” Student: “But with one of the coins and his… I would have been.” JT: “Do you not understand that in his organization, everybody’s going to have these coins if it works out for him? So that doesn’t make you any better.” Student: “But I gave him access to the room and gave him advance warning… He had every reason to… I proved my value to him.” Vincente: “This one time.” JT: “Your value, on a world that he despises and figures to control.” Student: “But he’s got to have somebody to help him control it, and I know this world. He has almost no local knowledge of how the stuff works here, and I know that. I could bring that to him. That’s what I have to offer.”

Vincente: “Can we go get the track star?” JT: “Yeah, probably should.” Valerie: “Let’s go do that. Rick, what’s the track star’s schedule? Is he in class?” Rick shoves his gun into his belt and starts tapping at the computer in the anteroom. Valerie, reading over Rick’s shoulder, sees that Kendera Jones has a class at the gym at 3:00pm (it’s presently 2:40pm). Kendera is African-American, 20 years old, senior, carries a 3.7 GPA. A photo accompanies the data. Vincente and Valerie leave.

JT: “So what do you think this archmage is going to do to you when he comes back and finds out that all the stuff you told him either wasn’t what you said it was, or was just a big setup?” Student: “He’ll think I double-crossed him… and he’ll probably squash me like a bug.” JT: “He won’t waste that much time. He’ll either shoot you, or take you down the road and abandon you. That’d be kind of interesting, wouldn’t it? Stranded out on the road with no knowledge.” Student: “That, I could survive.” JT: “You could? With what, your wonderful skills and crafty intellect?” Student: “I have enough.” JT, laughing: “It’s working out real well for you right now.” Student: “I obviously didn’t have all the… situation… appraised properly. I guess I’ve got to help you mousetrap this elder so I can get out of this alive; is that the deal?” JT: “I don’t know if you can survive that or not.” Student: “How can you help me survive this? If I can’t survive, why should I even help you?” JT: “Why would I want to help you?” Student (with desperation creeping into his voice): “There must be *something* I can do for you.” After a long thoughtful pause, JT replies, “I don’t know. We’ll think about it. You weren’t supposed to be at the meeting tonight either, though, were you?” Student: “No.”

JT shifts his attention back to Foley. “So, Doctor, the people you had coming from the other…” “Lodges.” “Okay. Are they in on the ‘trap the elder and take his coins’ plot?” “Not yet. I was going to approach that at the appropriate time.” “The ‘appropriate time’ being when he showed up?” “Yes, that was part of the plan.” “How many mages are you going to have there?” “There should be twelve total.” “Counting the Gatekeeper?” “That group wasn’t in my original plans, but I was going to factor them in. I thought I could deal with them appropriately, either as an ally or let them get caught in the crossfire, as appropriate. My… student was a little indistinct about exactly who they are.” “Your student?” “Yes, the one that encountered and brought the message back from them. I will admit the plan has a degree of risk in it…” “Especially if he doesn’t show up. What are you going to tell them then?” “We’ll, um, conduct the meeting as I originally planned it.” “As a discussion on ‘philosophical theory of Central Europe’?” “No, I really called it on how to deal with and best use the thing and use it to increase our power in the Cabal. But when this guy dropped into my lap this morning, I made some quick alterations in plans with my husband. It seemed like too good an opportunity to let pass.” “How many people is he bringing?” “There are five other veterans in the area that he trusts. He may bring four or five others.”

Max rummages in the trunk of his car and comes up with some smoke grenades and the cattle prod. He carries these items onto the rear balcony and up onto the roof. He tells Gilbert and Stephanie to get ready by the front door. Max drops some smoke grenades down the ventilation shafts, plugs the shafts, and then positions himself directly over the front door. As the Nazis (two skinheads and another man) stumble out the front door, Max zaps them on their heads and shoulders with the cattle prod, Stephanie pistol-whips them, and Gilbert Dazes them. Max drops down from the roof and shuts the door. He asks Gilbert if there’s anyone else inside; Gilbert says there isn’t, then does something else and the smoke dissipates. The three Nazis are dragged back inside and tied up.

Around 2:53pm as Valerie and Vincente approach the gym, they both spot Kendera Jones walking with a lovely coed. Vincente speeds up while Valerie comes up more slowly. But Kendera happens to glance up and spot Valerie; his eyes widen and he exclaims, “Oh, my goodness!” The girl with him looks over and gapes as well. For some reason they seem to recognize Valerie. With their attention thus drawn away from him, Vincente casts Mental Stun on Kendera and the girl. Valerie tries to cast a spell to make the girl leave; the girl cries out, “Oh my god, I’ve got to tell my friends! Wait right here!” and scurries away. Kendera stands there with an amazed expression. Valerie shields Vincente’s actions as he pulls the quarter from Kendera’s right pocket (and replaces it with a normal one). It is the Delaware quarter, dated 1999 [Delaware – 1787 – Caesar Rodney – The First State. It bears a picture of a man on horseback. This commemorates Caesar Rodney’s Ride; he rode 80 miles from Dover to Philadelphia in one night in order to cast the deciding vote in the Delaware delegation to the Continental Congress in favor of the Declaration of Independence.] [Tom: “I’m glad he got the *speed* from the horse.”] Vincente pockets the quarter, then teleports himself and Valerie back to the Dean’s office. The student looks flabbergasted; Foley appears impressed.

At 2:55pm, Sevren is waiting at the Student Union. JT, Rick, Vincente, and Valerie are at Dean Gil Davis’s office with Davis, Foley, and the grad student. (Rick ends the denial-of-service on the school’s Internet, as there is no more need for it. The main purpose had been to prevent the New York group from finding out there is no Denver group.) Max, Stephanie, and Gilbert are at the storefront in south Normal. Gilbert recognizes one of the Nazi captives (the non-skinhead). Max investigates and discovers that that Nazi has a fake tooth; he pulls it out with pliers.

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